How long can you hold a plank? Thirty seconds? A minute? Two minutes? What about 10 minutes? OK, so you won’t exactly have to hold a plank for 10 minutes with the above 10-minute plank workout, but your core will burn.
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In this video workout, Cassey Ho, Pilates instructor and creator of Blogilates, takes you through a series of planks, ranging from easy (knee plank) to intense (single-leg Spiderman plank). And by the end, your whole core — abs, obliques, back and glutes — will be on fire!
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Why planks? They provide a nearly endless number of ways to strengthen and stabilize your midsection from various angles.
Related Reading Join the LIVESTRONG.com 4-Week Plank Challenge And that’s important, because your core is at the center of everything you do, from walking your dog around the block to carrying bags of groceries to crushing your workouts. Plus, your core is in charge of supporting and keeping your spine, hips and shoulders in strong, healthy alignment. According to a January 2017 meta-analysis in Physical Therapy in Sport, performing stabilization exercises like planks can even help decrease back pain.
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Ready for a challenge? Grab your mat and let's get planking!
Try This 10-Minute Plank Workout to Strengthen Your Entire Core Press play and follow along as Ho guides you through this core-building, plank-a-thon workout. Here’s what to expect.
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Knee Plank: Start in a modified plank on your knees to begin to warm up your core for the rest of the workout. Knee Touches: Drop your knees toward the floor before returning to a high plank — don’t lose your form! Elbow Push-Up: From your high plank, drop into a forearm plank one arm at a time, then press back up. Downward Dog: Take a quick break by pressing back into this yoga pose and stretching out your core. Dogging Cobra: Transition from Downward Dog to Upward Dog in one fluid motion. Soldier Crawl: Holding a forearm plank, draw one knee, then the other, up to that side’s elbow to work your obliques. Butt-Up: From a forearm plank, pike your hips up in the air and then lower them back down to really feel the burn. Hover: Rock your body forward and backward while in a forearm plank. Your abs will be on fire! Knee Touch: You did this move in the beginning of the workout. Repeat here! Single-Leg Spiderman: Press into Downward Dog, raising one leg behind you. Draw that knee to the same side’s elbow for another variation on the oblique crunch. Plank Butt Pulse: Get those glutes firing by lifting and lowering alternating legs a few inches while you balance in a forearm plank. Plank: For the final 10 seconds, hold a forearm or high plank. You’ve got this! Child’s Pose: Relax into this yoga pose and celebrate your hard work.
Tip If you have trouble maintaining solid form, drop to your knees or get in Downward Dog for a breather. Or if you feel any wrist pain in a high plank, lower to a forearm plank, Ho says.
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references
Physical Therapy in Sport: "Stabilization exercise compared to general exercises or manual therapy for the management of low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis"
references
Physical Therapy in Sport: "Stabilization exercise compared to general exercises or manual therapy for the management of low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis"
Join the LIVESTRONG.com 4-Week Plank Challenge
If you have trouble maintaining solid form, drop to your knees or get in Downward Dog for a breather. Or if you feel any wrist pain in a high plank, lower to a forearm plank, Ho says.
Physical Therapy in Sport: "Stabilization exercise compared to general exercises or manual therapy for the management of low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis"
